World B.

If the Blazers are seriously looking for players to improve this team for the upcoming season, you're not going to find that in the draft. If we keep these picks, we need to get the best players available, preferably big men. They'll still need a year or 2 to develop. Nolan Smith and Luke Babbit were both highly touted players out of college....and you see what that got us. Free Agency is the way to go. Of all the options I'm hearing out there, I'm most intrigued with Dragic and even Kyle Lowry. Nash would be real nice, but don't see that happening. Did I also hear somewhere that Paul Milsap is a possibility? If that's true, we need to jump all over that!!

I see Sullinger being an impact player in the NBA. He's a little under sized, but being left handed won't hurt him at all. I don't think Portland should consider him at 11, but he won't last far beyond that.

Having an entire year off will do wonders for Brandon. All reports out of Seattle say he's looking like his old self which is a scary thought. I don't know how long that will last, but I anticipate that when he does come back, he's going to be an All Star. The wild card in this whole thing is this new treatment in Germany that has done wonders for Dirk and others. With the way things have been going for The Blazers lately, I have no doubt that both Brandon Roy and Greg Oden will be headed toward outstanding performances this season no doubt.

The few times I watched Jon and Kate's show.....I could sense from Jon's body language and facial expressions that he wasn't very happy in that relationship. She just seemed overly aggressive and loud.....while he was always fairly quite. Probably not a good fit. I didn't watch a lot of it.....just my observation. As is often the case.....sometimes you don't know how good you have it until it's gone. It'd be nice to see the family reunited.....and after all they've gone through, good chance they'd be successful. I guess you never know......

On a MUCH more pleasant topic.....that's too bad about the balloons not being able to fly. Every year at this time I look forward to waking up to see the glorious sight of all those hot air balloons flying overhead. Most years they fly directly over my house in Tualatin! It is so beautiful seeing that!! They were so low one year I was able to hear the conversations of the people riding in the balloons! The sound of the heat jets is what woke me up. Too bad we won't see that this year.....hoping for better weather next year!

Not what I'm hearing DBrekke. BRoy looking like his old self right now up in Seattle. Granted those are pick up games and exhibitions, but from all reports he's lookin' very, very good. Granted he may not be able to give you big minutes night in and night out like the BRoy of old, but limit his minutes and he will ABUSE Wes, Elliot, et al. Geez....BRoy could probably do that even on one leg!! As for the last sentence in your post.......only time will tell. Given the decision-making history of this Blazer franchise, I have no doubt both Oden and BRoy will be on the All Star team. And if you're really wanting some of what I'm having, help yourself to a heaping dose of REALITY!!

Prepare yourselves Blazer fans....B Roy will definitely be coming back to the NBA, and is going to TORCH the Blazers for years to come. B Roy on one leg is better than most of the 2's in this league. I just pray he goes to the Eastern Conference......but I hear the Lakers would LOVE to have him. If he can go to a team that can limit his minutes during the regular season.....WATCH OUT! Blazer fans need to also be prepared for Greg Oden to be a factor in the NBA somewhere. Can you picture a healthy Oden in Miami?? Scary thought. Might seem unlikely.....but I continue to have this feeling.

ALL public entities that require payment like parking and mass transit.....should be required to accept CASH as a form of payment, both paper and coin. At several WES Station platforms......debit/credit card the only form of payment accepted. No option to pay with cash when boarding like on the bus either. That makes absolutely no sense! This is the scheme Banks in this country are using to move people away from using money in favor of plastic. Statistics show that banks make BILLIONS OF DOLLARS that way.....through overdraft fees and credit card interest rates. I've learned my lesson a long time ago.....and use cash whenever possible. As a result, I am being penalized since all these fancy vending machines will only take plastic. Cashiers at grocery stores look at you funny now when you pay with cash. It's just a matter of time when money will no longer be accepted as payment in grocery stores, etc. Everything will be electronic. It may sound like a good thing on the surface.....but once you dig deeper you understand why this hs happening......TO INCREASE BANK REVENUES. We need legislation to assure that this does not happen.

Some great posts on this topic.....I welcome the discussion. I know I've had my eyes opened the past few years watching my own daughters compete at the high school level. Both my daughters compete (and have competed) at the 6A level....and have been playing sports for as long as I can remember. It's amazing to see the how many young girls are playing sports these days. It didn't used to be that way. I read somewhere that more young girls are playing basketball than boys! That's amazing.....and I think that's a good thing. Sports teaches young people so much about life outside athletics. You're going to see women's sports skills getting better and better with time. I'm not saying that women will ever be able to compete with the men.....but I am saying that the talent gap will definitely be shrinking. Just watching my daughters compete at the 6A level, I marvel at how good these young ladies are getting. It's great seeing many of them move on to college with athletic scholarships. I recognize the pioneers in Women's athletics in Oregon that made all this possible.....people like Anna Maria, Cindy Brown, Katy Steding, and many, many others. Take note of Elizabeth Brenner from Jesuit and now at the U of Oregon. As a Freshman, she competed on the Duck Varsity Basketball team, Volleyball team, and also Softball. She's also has World class talent in a few other sports as well. WHAT AN ATHLETE!! Now we have young female athletes like Gigi Stoll.....Shoni Schimmel.....and many more who will follow in their footsteps. The accomplishments of Anna Maria and other great female athletes from Oregon have shown young ladies in Oregon and beyond that anything is possible with hard work and a belief in yourself. Just as I'm sure that there will be many more young ladies that will excel in athletics as a result of what great female athletes in Oregon today are doing. Boys have always had role models in athletics to look up to....it's nice to now see young girls having those examples to strive for. As a parent of young daughters, I am very happy to see this happening.....and society will benefit from this as time goes on. There's room for both Men and Women in athletics.....It's a very good thing.

It's so nice knowing there are people out there like this.....more interested in learning and getting to know other people by buying them breakfast and talking to them.......rather than spending thousands of dollars on some gaudy wedding/reception and pointless honeymoon. I take note that this couple is older, which explains the maturity in their decision to do this. We might all learn something from their adventure. I just hate to see all these couples getting married these days spending Thousands and Thousands of dollars on an elaborate wedding ceremony/wedding dresses/receptions/parties/honeymoon....that is so pointless and a waste. All that money could instead be going to much better use. Even if a young couple starting out puts that money in the bank to save for a house or starting a future family......that makes so much more sense than just blowing it all on an elaborate and pointless party. Money is too tight these days to blow it on such ridiculous things. Why not do as this couple is doing......and look for ways to do something positive with the money and give something back to society and maybe even learn something about the world we live in? I hope other young couples getting married will take note of this and follow suit.

Wouldn't consider myself a Soccer fan at all.....but do check out the Timbers on TV when they're on. I've actually been comparing the level of play to what I see in World Cup Soccer. My observations is that the level of play is so much lower in the MLS in general and the Timbers in particular. Ball control....turnovers.....things that even a passive Soccer viewer can understand.....you can see how superior the play is in the World Cup vs. the MLS. Watching the Timbers.....just no continuity on Offense.....far too many poor passes and turning the ball over to the opposition. The good teams seem to get more shots on goal.....more opportunities to score. The good teams also can defend when they need to. We may have good athletes, but I question our tactics and overall team play. Where are the goal scorers??

MUCH more information needed here.......in this day and age, it doesn't make any sense that anyone attempting to board a plane with an "explosive device" would be cited and released on a misdemeanor charges.

This is a tragedy......it should never happen in America. Either we take care of our kids now......or we pay a much steeper price later. This is a National Security issue pure and simple.......and it should be treated that way. The real threat to this country isn't in Iran or Afghanistan.......it's right here within our borders due to our inability to adequately fund the education of our kids!!